Family says woman was trying to help the man charged with her murder

WORCESTER — It was 17 years after her parents and three younger siblings emigrated from Vietnam before Nhung Nguyen and her three daughters were able to join them.

In the six years she lived here, Ms. Nguyen, who had a very poor life in Vietnam, fell in love with her new country and she worked hard to build a better life. She loved to learn and she was very ambitious.

She just recently got her driver's license and her hairdressing license, and she was about to take a test to become a U.S. citizen. She particularly wanted to be able to vote. She also had dreams of becoming a florist.

Ms. Nguyen's youngest brother, Anh Nguyen, was helping her find a used four-wheel drive vehicle on Craigslist that would be durable in the rough winter. He said he had planned to go check the car out, but put it off because of the recent back-to-back snowstorms.

"I feel like if I had gotten her a car sometime last week, so she could go to work by herself …" he said, unable to finish his thought as his voice began to tremble.

The body of Mr. Nguyen's 46-year-old sister was discovered Tuesday in the parking garage at the Auburn Mall. Police have charged 27-year-old Vu Van Ngo of 201 Dana Ave. with the murder. Family members said Mr. Ngo, a friend of a family relative, drove Ms. Nguyen to and from her job at the Worcester Envelope Co. near the mall. They said that just last month, she had gotten him a job where she worked.

In an interview at the family's home on Grammont Road yesterday, Ms. Nguyen's brother and 19-year-old niece, Lina Nguyen, a Clark University student who plans to become an immigration lawyer, said they want the public to know how special and loving Nhung was.

Mr. Nguyen said Mr. Ngo, whom he had never met, called his sister "Auntie," and she loved him like a son and wanted to help him. She helped pay for gas for his car and she cooked him lunch each day as she did for other people because that was the kind of person she was.

"The way she told me I thought she would be OK to go with him. My sister opened her heart to everyone. She wanted to help people," said Mr. Nguyen. "If she had nothing, she still wanted to help people. That's how she is. She believed if you're always good to people, people will always be good to you. But that's not 100 percent true."

Lina said her aunt was a beautiful, kind woman with a beautiful voice. She was very attached to her 15-month-old granddaughter, Sunny Ky Anh.

"She was always laughing and she loved joking. Even when she was upset, she was always happy and smiling and trying to be sarcastic and humorous with everyone," she said.

When her parents and siblings came to the U.S., Ms. Nguyen was not able to come with them because she was married and had to apply separately. Her parents and brothers worked long hours, saved money and bought the house on Grammont Road where three generations live. Ms. Nguyen eventually divorced and emigrated to this country in 2007.

"She really loved Worcester ... how we lived on this private street. It wasn't just a hustle and bustle city. It was a calm place," her niece, Lina, said. "She thought in America there are so many opportunities. My uncles are entrepreneurs. I think that's what sparked all these ideas she had. She started a new life and she just wanted to keep adding more and more to it."

She said more than anything, closeness of the family is important. Every weekend, family members congregate at the Grammont Road home to cook, eat, sing karaoke and play cards. During the summer, the family has cookouts to grill fish that the uncles catch.

The family, which is Buddhist, set up an altar for Ms. Nguyen in the living room with a picture of her, incense, candles, flowers, fruit and a red envelope with lucky money in it that Ms. Nguyen had given to a neighbor. Each day they cook meals that she likes. The purpose is to guide her home, Lina said. This will continue until after she is buried Feb. 25. The family is waiting for Ms. Nguyen's mother and one of her daughters to return from a visit to Vietnam.

"It's to comfort her soul and spirit. We talk to her and pray for her," explained Lina. "We still feel like she's around with us. We want her to eat. That's what we believe in. Even though we cannot see her, we believe she's home with us now."

Lina said the closeness of the family will see them through this horrible tragedy.

"I know we're going to come out of this strong. I don't even doubt that we're going to be OK," she said. "Yes, we're going to cry and break down sometimes, but we're going to all get together as one. It's going to be great when grandma gets here. I just really believe my aunt is here for us. We really brought her home."

Contact Elaine Thompson at ethompson@telegram.com.

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